Town Fires Police, Goes Private, Crime Drops 50%

He looks like a cop, he dresses like a cop, but he is actual a member of S.E.A.L. security. A Houston neighborhood decided to go with private security and cuts crime in half.

Sharpstown rent a cop

When Sharpstown, a small suburb in Houston, Texas, received their last bill from Harris County sheriff department, they thought they could go cheaper. Harris County told them to put their money where their mouth is. So they did. Not only have they gained a presence of three patrol cars at any given hour, but saved the suburb about $200,000 a year.

They don’t pull people over, they don’t stop traffic, but they do stop crime. The city said crime is down in fact by over 50%. Not bad from just increasing visibility of law enforcement. The private security company is armed and does have the power to make arrests. The funny aspect is that they take them to Harris County lock up.

The S.E.A.L. company has its own academy. All patrol officers are licensed. They have K-9 units trained and at their disposal. While they specialize in business and residential security in the state of Texas, when they were contacted by the suburb in need of help, they were all too happy to provide them with the best package deal for the town. The suburb is happy with the arrangement along with the S.E.A.L. Security Solutions Firm.

So one must ask what is the downside to this? So far the only people saying anything negative is Harris County that lost out on the contract due to over charging the suburb. Even the news finds this strange but seems interested in the arrangement.

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